


Blessed

by DramaticalHearts (dancingwithdestiny)



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pillow Talk, Post-drama CD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 16:22:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5877511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingwithdestiny/pseuds/DramaticalHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a night of mutual bliss, Aoba is content merely to be by Mink's side, in the same bed.</p><p>A few questions surface in his mind, however - about Mink himself, his tribe, and whether he's surprised that his journey led to him having a man in his bed.</p><p>After all, Mink said that he would no longer hesitate to tell him about his past, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blessed

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic that started out with a single thought, and expanded from there, headcanons piling on top of each other. ^^'  
> These are merely my own theories - if you have your own opinions, feel free to discuss them in the comments section!  
> (Politely, please)
> 
> I'd like to wish Mari (@maidmink on twitter) a very happy birthday today - I'm posting this fic today for you :3  
> You helped inspire me to write it, as a matter of fact~
> 
> Special thanks to coolangelsthesis for beta-reading for me once again. <3

"A-ah, Mink!" Aoba exclaimed, balling his fists into the sheets, back arching upwards as he hit his peak.

Mink gripped onto Aoba tight, grunting deeply as he reached his climax shortly after.

They collapsed together, atop Mink's bed and still entangled in one another, catching their breath.

After a moment basking in the afterglow, Mink pulled out, cleaning both Aoba and himself up. When he was finished, Aoba caught his lips, pulling him into a tender kiss. Mink reciprocated, kissing back with just as much tenderness, slowly and sweetly.

When they broke for air, panting lightly, they looked into one another's eyes for a moment. Mink reached up, cupping Aoba's face in his hand, his eyes searching, asking the silent question: _Was that okay?_

Aoba smiled back, the expression lighting up his eyes. "Thank you," he said, his voice soft and sincere.

Mink gave a small smile and soft huff of a laugh, then laid down beside Aoba.

Aoba drew closer, enjoying Mink's warmth. Their nights together like this weren't frequent – at least not as frequent as Aoba would have preferred – so he savored every bit of it. He was a patient man, but tonight he just _wanted Mink,_ and of course, Mink couldn't help but oblige.

Just then, a curious thought skittered across his mind, something he hadn't yet asked Mink about.

It wasn't the most casual of topics, so Aoba felt hesitant in asking, but at the same time, he wanted to know what Mink would say.

He turned over to face Mink, a motion that caught his attention. He peered over at Aoba, his golden eyes glinting in the dim light.

Under Mink's stare, Aoba's hesitance grew, but he pushed through. "Hey, Mink?"

"Mm?"

Aoba couldn't look into his eyes as he asked; he opted for staring at his nose, his lips, his chin, his ear, to keep his eyes from lingering on one place for too long. "Do you ever think it's weird? That you...ended up with a guy?"

"You ask this now?" Mink said, a small smirk quirking his lips.

"It-it's not like that!" Aoba said, flustered. "I, I mean, that kind of thing wasn't discussed in your tribe, was it..." Aoba said, trailing off, feeling more awkward with every word.

Mink pursed his lips, thinking. "Not really. Marriages often weren't about love. Our tribe was so small, the goal was to match up suitable men and women so that they would have children and continue the bloodline. This kind of thing… we knew about it, but it was never discussed. When we saw it among the unwed, we looked the other way, not getting involved unless we had to. And we usually didn't. We all knew that there was only one acceptable way in order for our tribe to survive."

"Huh..." Aoba said. "So did you… ever have feelings for women?"

Mink shook his head. "Not like this."

Aoba felt a tingle at that.

"So, if you had married her… your, fiancee..."

Mink sighed softly. "I would have fulfilled my duty to her. I would have done what was expected of me, to stay with her and have children. But, I don't think my feelings for her would have ever gone beyond that."

"Oh..." Aoba said. "So you're really...?"

"Mm," Mink affirmed.

"When did you first realize it? That you were… different?"

Mink paused in thought. "It wasn't unusual for someone not to feel an attraction toward the person the shaman had paired them with. They merely endured it, for the sake of the tribe, because the shaman had decreed it through his visions. However… I noticed in my youth that I wasn't drawn toward women the way my friends were. I wasn't sure what it meant."

Mink went quiet for a moment. "It was when I felt myself being drawn toward another man that I figured it out."

Aoba lifted his head, his eyebrows raised. "Hm...?"

"Like I said, my tribe had experienced that kind of thing before. It wasn't something discussed publicly, only in private, in whispers. There were a few men and women who carried out secret affairs… so that a man could be with another man, but still stay with his wife. It wasn't looked upon kindly. So when I figured that out about myself, I kept it to myself. I had no intention of ever being unfaithful to my wife."

"I see..." Aoba said. When Aoba thought on it, he decided that that would be just like Mink, to be faithful, to fulfill his promise and duty to his betrothed, to his tribe, without question. The thought made his heart swell; Mink truly was a good and kind man, both then and now.

After a moment's pause, Mink spoke again.

"My father may have been such a man, however."

"...E-ehh?!"

"I don't have proof," Mink said, shaking his head, "but there was tension between my mother and father, right before Toue came. They tried to keep it from my sister and I, but I could tell that my mother had begun to distrust my father. When he was away for long periods of time to hunt, my mother's worry turned into anger. His absences… grew longer with time. Longer than they should have been. I was going to confront him myself, but… I never got the chance."

Mink looked down, and sighed. "I hope they forgave one another, before the end."

Aoba drew closer, embracing Mink, kissing him beside his mouth. He knew he couldn't take away the pain of Mink's past, but that didn't stop him from trying to dull it, just a little.

Mink gave him a slight, soft, pained smile in return.

"I'm sure they've forgiven each other by now, at least," Aoba said, with a reassuring smile. "If they're anything like you, they have."

Mink closed his eyes, sighing softly through his nose, then leaned over to kiss Aoba's forehead.

He looked at Aoba then. "When did you figure it out? That you were different?"

"A-ah..." Aoba stammered, caught off-guard. "W-when I was a teenager, I guess… I liked men and women. I guess it was more like… it didn't matter who I slept with… wow, that sounds bad. Uh, well, I wasn't really a good kid back then… I got in trouble a lot."

"Seems like you turned that around.”

"Y-yeah...I got into a really bad accident, worried Granny something terrible, and I knew I couldn't do the stuff I was doing anymore."

"Admirable," Mink said.

"You're not...surprised? Upset?"

"Surprised, not upset. I don't have the right to judge you for the mistakes you made in the past. I know who you are right now. That's what matters."

Aoba blushed. Aoba remembered Mink's vow to move past what happened in the past, to make a new path to make up for the errors he had made, but Aoba hadn't realized that that applied to himself, as well. When he thought about it, they really had come far, from where they once were.

"Do you think it's weird? That you ended up with a man," Mink asked.

Aoba shook his head. "No. Not really. I knew I wanted to be with someone I have feelings for, and that person's you, so..." He looked down, blushing deeper. "I'm happy with it."

Aoba remembered then, that Mink hadn't quite answered his first question. Instead of asking it again, he decided to ask him a slightly different question.

Looking up at Mink, he saw the tiredness seeping into his expression; Aoba was surprised he had held on this long without nodding off.

"Did you ever… wish you were different? That you liked women, like your friends?"

"No. My tribe believed that when it came to people, God made no mistakes. Whatever we were given when we were born was what we were meant to bear. Be it a blessing or a challenge, we were thankful for it either way, for what God had entrusted us with."

"So...a man liking a man, that was seen as a challenge, not a sin?"

"Right," Mink nodded. "It wasn't compatible with our way of life, but it wasn't condemned in and of itself."

"So...how do you see it now?"

Mink wound his arms around Aoba, pulling him closer when he found no resistance. He held him a moment before he responded.  
  
"A blessing."

Aoba made a soft, silent gasp. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt warm all over, and not just because of Mink's hold. He smiled, feeling his eyes welling just a bit.

 _A blessing._ That Mink could have these feelings for another man. That Mink could love Aoba the way that he does, and show it. That, after he had lost everything he had ever known, everyone he had ever loved, he could know love again, and be saved by it. Mink considered that, all of that, a blessing.

Aoba looked up at Mink to reply, his eyes wet-

-to find that Mink had fallen asleep.

Aoba merely smiled wider, wiping away a tear with the back of his hand. He watched Mink's face for a moment, studied his peaceful expression. The lines on his face - lines put there by grief and pain - were softer now, and he looked completely at ease.

Aoba gave a soft, contented sigh, settling back into Mink's hold.

They both had been dealt their own set of challenges, both in their own lives, and in their relationship. Together, they worked hard to acknowledge and overcome these challenges, and they both came out stronger in the end. Aoba knew that Mink had been referring to something different, but he couldn't help but think that perhaps those challenges were a blessing too, for they had led them both to this place, to this point, to each other's embrace.

Aoba wasn't sure yet if he himself believed in God, or that one could be granted favor from the divine, but...

...he couldn't help but feel that he'd been blessed, as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not meant to represent the views of any real life Native American tribe; they are merely my own headcanons of Mink's own tribe, based on the information given in the drama CD.


End file.
